Pointificate Links

A simple plugin for Obsidian that decodes URL encoded links and encloses them in pointy (angled) brackets, which are more readable and comply with the CommonMark spec.

With wikilinks turned off, Obsidian writes Markdown links with spaces encoded as %20:

[My Note](My%20Note.md)

This plugin turns them into:

[My Note](<My Note.md>)

Installation

From the community plugin directory

1. In Obsidian, open Settings → Community plugins and turn off restricted mode.
2. Select Browse, search for "Pointificate Links", then Install and Enable.

Manually

1. Download main.js and manifest.json from the latest release.
2. Copy them into <your vault>/.obsidian/plugins/pointificate-links/.
3. Reload Obsidian and enable the plugin under Settings → Community plugins.

Behavior

Automatic conversion

Whenever text containing an encoded Markdown link is inserted into the editor (link autocomplete, paste, drag-and-drop), the link is rewritten right away. The rewrite is part of the same undo step as the insertion, and the cursor stays where it was.

Only links whose destination contains a % and is not already in pointy brackets are touched.

Manual command

Pointificate Links: Decode links and enclose in pointy brackets converts every encoded link in the currently open document. Use it to clean up existing notes, or links changed in ways the automatic mode can't see (see Limits).

Settings

• Automatically use pointy brackets (default: on). Turns the automatic conversion on or off. The manual command works either way.

Limits

• Only edits made in the editor are converted automatically. When you rename or move a file, Obsidian updates links in other notes directly on disk, without going through the editor. Those links are likely to be re-encoded as %20 (not yet verified), and the plugin won't fix them automatically. Run the command on the affected notes.
• Links are left alone when they can't be converted safely:
  • the destination has a malformed % sequence (for example %zz);
  • the decoded destination contains <, > or a line break, which would break the pointy brackets.
• The manual command replaces the whole document text, so it may reset the cursor position and scroll position.
• Links already in pointy brackets, wikilinks and links without % are never modified.

Privacy

The plugin works entirely locally. It makes no network requests, collects no telemetry, needs no account or payment, and only reads and edits the note you have open in the editor.

Development

npm install
npm run dev     # rebuild main.js on every change
npm run build   # type-check and produce a production main.js

To test in a vault, put (or symlink) this folder at <vault>/.obsidian/plugins/pointificate-links/. The folder name must match the id in manifest.json.

License

MIT